Finn Harps had reason to feel denied at the final whistle at Turners Cross yesterday as they wasted a glorious opportunity of finishing this FAI cup tie at the first time of asking.
But Fergal Harkin and Donal O'Brien both spurned the chance of knocking out the holders three minutes into added time and it was Cork goalkeeper Noel Mooney who emerged as the game's hero.
He turned aside scoring attempts by Harkin and O'Brien in the one heart stopping incident after Cork centreback Derek Coughlan had caused chaos in the goalmouth with an underhit back pass to Mooney.
The goalkeeper scrambled to dive at Harkins feet as the midfielder attempted to take the ball around him and although the ball broke loose into the path of O'Brien, Mooney was off the ground quickly to throw himself in front of the shot.
It was a dramatic and exciting end to a match that had been low key and littered with errors for most of the afternoon. Cork played very poorly and the loss of seven points from their previous three league games apparently took a toll of their confidence so they seldom caused Finn Harps' sturdy defence any problems.
It was not until manager, Dave Barry, juggled his forces in the course of the second half and brought in substitutes Mark Herrick, Gerald Dobbs, and Noel Hartigan that they showed any urgency in their play.
Cork might well have snatched the game in the final minute of regular time when Dave Hill broke clear on the left for a cross which found Hartigan rising unchallenged outside the far post. But his header flew over the bar and Cork were ultimately saved by Mooney's double save.
"Both teams had chances to win the match", said Harps' manager, Charlie McGeever. "Cork did not come to life until the last 10 minutes and their goalkeeper Noel Mooney lived up his reputation as one of the best young goalkeepers in the league with his late save."
Harps might well have won the match before then, had centre forward James Mulligan not spoiled a very good performances by a failure to take advantage of his scoring chances.
It seemed as if all of Harps' best work ended with Mulligan being presented with a scoring opportunity but he failed to deliver, most obviously when he was left clear of the defence twice with only the goalkeeper to beat.
The replay will be played on Wednesday week.Cork City: Mooney, Daly, Coughlan, Hill, Cronin, O'Brien, Freyne, Flanagan, Cahill, Caulfield, Morley. Subs: Dobbs, for Caulfield (58 mins), Herrick for Cahill (62 mins), Hartigan for Flanagan (80 mins).
Finn Harps: McKenna, Vaudequin, Boyle, Dykes, Minnock, Mohan, Harkin, O'Brien, McGrenaghan, Mulligan, Speak. Subs: Kavanagh for McGrenaghan (75 mins), Bradley for Mulligan (83 mins).
Referee: G Perry (Dublin).
